The Supreme Court has overturned and remanded a case in which Choi Seowon (formerly Choi Soon-sil), a key figure in the state affairs manipulation scandal, filed a damages lawsuit against former Democratic Party lawmaker Minseok Ahn, ruling that some of Ahn's statements constituted defamation.
The Supreme Court's Second Division (presiding justice Eom Sangpil) on June 26 partially overturned the appellate court's ruling, which had found in favor of the defendant, and sent the case back to the Seoul Southern District Court.
The Supreme Court found that statements by Ahn, such as "the money from Company A in a Swiss secret account is connected to Choi" and "Choi met with the chairman of a U.S. defense company and profited from it," were unlawful. The Court stated, "There is no circumstance to suggest that Ahn had sufficient reason to believe the content was true, and the remarks constitute either malicious or grossly excessive attacks, making it difficult to consider the illegality excused." The Court further pointed out, "There is no evidence to show the existence of a tip-off, and the defendant appears not to have made any effort to verify whether the information was true, such as conducting an investigation. The statements in question were not mere speculation or suspicion but were expressed in very definitive terms."
However, regarding Ahn's remarks about the scale of Choi's overseas hidden assets and the existence of a paper company in Germany, the Supreme Court determined that "as political claims made by a lawmaker, it is difficult to conclude that they were malicious or exceeded the boundaries of freedom of expression," and thus found the illegality excused.
Previously, Choi filed a lawsuit in which she claimed damages of 100 million won, arguing that she suffered harm from Ahn's dissemination of false information regarding her hidden assets during the state affairs manipulation scandal that erupted between 2016 and 2017.
The court of first instance ruled in favor of the plaintiff, as Ahn did not appear in court and the trial concluded without a defense. However, the appellate court overturned this decision and ruled against the plaintiff.
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